Monday, March 12, 2012

How to make a faux wallpaper

What I love the most: that it looks like a single wallpaper roll (which is exactly what I wanted to do).

I cannot commit to wallpaper, although I love the look so much!

I tend to get bored with my home decor, so nothing stays the same for more than one or two years. Imagine if I had to install a wallpaper and then take it down in a couple of years! I've seen it done on other blogs and there is only one conclusion: ripping down a wallpaper is hard work, is messy and requires refinishing the wall :((

So I decided to make a temporary wallpaper, using wall stickers. I know it sounds cheap, but if you do it right it looks just like the real thing. And I can take it down quickly, without destroying the wall.

I saw these dirty cheap bicycle stickers (made in China) in a warehouse. They had me at "Hello".

PAY ATTENTION! Don't try to peel off the printed sections, they can get cut in the process. Instead, peel off the adhesive that is NOT printed - I mean the white parts between the actual stickers. In the end, only the printed sections will remain on your sheet and you can take them off without ripping them in the middle.

2. Prepare the surface.

Take a smooth sponge and immerse it into a mild soap solution. Carefully wash up the wall surface, without rubbing too much.

3. Make a grid for your fake wallpaper roll.

This is by far the trickiest part. I wanted to make a fake wallpaper roll, not an impressionistic painting. So it had to look seamless and perfectly aligned.

Measure the width you want to have on the wall and trace a grid with the pencil on the wall. Since I had 4 sticker sheets, I drew 4 boxes on the wall, one on top of the other. Use the builders square. You want the grid to be perpendicular to the floor and aligned with the corners of the wall.

As you can see, I drew the grid three or four times, then I erased the wrong grid lines with a simple eraser.

4. Stick the first sheet on the wall grid.

Start with the biggest item, it will anchor the composition. Don't put your fingers on the glue side, it will damage the adhesive properties of your stickers. Press gently from the middle towards the edges, in order to eliminate any air bubbles.

5. Repeat step 4 for the next sticker sheets.

Do exactly the same as before. Start with your biggest item and align it perfectly with the previous one.

6. Add the final details.

The wallpaper looks complete. Well, it's not. I left out the little grass stickers, on purpose.

Take an overall look at your pattern and look for the gaps. Fill the blank spaces with the smallest items (the grass, in my case) to make it balanced.

I had no idea that it was wall stickers looking at the first picture!I am seriously amazed!! I'm getting ready to move into an apartment and I HAVE to do this!! I'll link back to this awesome tutorial when I do ;)

i love this!!! i already pinned it to make sure i won't forget.by the way, i have the same paper lantern i spotted in one of your pictures, the one with the cherry blossoms. did you also buy it many years ago? i guess that means we both have a great taste :)

Awesome and original! Very cool! It turned out so cute! Please come by my linky party hapening now to link it up - I would love to see you there!Stacey of Embracing Changehttp://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com

wow this is SOOO fabulous!i would love for you to link this post up to my weekend wrap up link party: spread the love.there are no rules, just link up and share your fun things with others! http://lovenotesbylauryn.blogspot.com/2012/03/spread-love-2.htmlstop by if you are interested!{love} lauryn

Wow - I'm really impressed on how you lined it up so perfectly!! And with your patience with the whole project. I'm not sure I could do that for 3 hours. Maybe if I took breaks. I really love it though!!

Thanks for linking up to the Take it on Tuesday blog hop. I'm definitely pinning this!!

That is so neet. I like it. I love your blog and can't wait to read more. I'm your newest linky and GFC follower. I hope you can come over to my new blog and if you like follow me too @ http://www.arosiesweethome.com/ThanksRosePS I'm Hosting a New Linky Party at my blog on Sundays. I would love it if you came and linked up to the party this Sunday.

Hi, the faux wallpaper is such a great idea! I'm like you and get bored with my home decor after a while and have to move things around to freshen it up! So these stickers are perfect! Have to try it out!!! :)

This is so cool, so clever and amazing!!! I am pinning this. I hope you will come link it up to The CSI Project. The challenge is embossing and paper crafts. And fake wall paper fits that category!!!www.thecsiproject.com

Those are stickers!!!! girl you are awesome!!!!! this look so real is incredible, I just want everyone to see it, so if is not a problem I'm going to show it at my blog, because this is one of the best DIY I seeing in a long time!!!XX